Without Gloves
by starah
Summary: Sanji has a moment with Nami during the search for a doctor after Little Garden and before Drum.


Without Gloves  
  
  
  


The air was beginning to grow colder. Sanji blew onto his fingers, forgetting he had gloves on, and watched a puff of breath   
linger in the air before dissappearing. He checked the skies. It was no lighter than it had been the last time he'd checked;   
five seconds ago.  
  
He looked at the lockpost in his palm. They were still going along where the lockpost indicated. Sanji put the clear glass   
dome up to his eye, and confirmed that the path they were headed was correct for the thirty-seventh time. He brought his   
gaze to the inky-black sea again, feeling the familiar bobbing up and down of the ship.  
  
A minute later, Sanji checked the lockpost. They were still heading pretty much the same way. He blew onto his gloves   
again, and felt the temperature drop yet again.   
  
Finally, his eyelids were beginnig to droop. He let out a yawn, stretching out his stiff arms and neck. He got off his perch   
and then kicked few times sharply into the space, to stretch his long legs out.  
  
Feeling a bit more refreshed, Sanji lit another cigarette, and sucked in the surrounding air through it. He blew the smoke   
out all at once, and watched it taint the cold air with its scent and smokiness. He drew in another drag, and let out his   
breaths in short puffs, watching his donut smoke rings float gently before misting away.   
  
Sanji checked the lockpost again. The wind was too gentle, so even with the sails out the boat crawled along at snail's pace.   
  
'Argh... too cold... can't think properly...'  
  
He watched more donuts float away from him. At that moment, a mittened hand pressed lightly against Sanji's shoulder.   
He turned to see Vivi, who was shivering a little.  
  
"It's my shift,"  
  
Vivi whispered, her teeth chattering. Sanji opened his mouth to protest, but instead Vivi pushed him down towards the   
cabin, and quickly sat down where Sanji had just been, her hand clasping the lockpost. Sanji smiled, and walked down   
the steps towards the lower cabin, rubbing his palms together as he did so.  
  
It was considerably warmer downstairs, partly because of the body heat the crew members were emitting. Sanji felt his   
body defrost as he settled down between Usopp and Luffy, trying to warm his fingers. He peeled his gloves off, and his eyes   
fell upon Zoro's sleeping face.   
  
'Dammit, I could draw on his face and he wouldn't know...'  
  
But he decided not to, lest he find himself in pieces the next morning. He was tired, but only his body was. Sanji's mind   
was beginning to wake up, and now he glanced towards the bed Nami was lying down at.  
  
He noticed her blankets were a little pulled off to the side. He crawled over to her and pulled the blanket up and over Nami.   
She shivered violently, and Sanji looked at her face contorted with pain. It was so dark, but he could still make out her knitted   
eyebrows, her twisted lips and blotchy cheeks.   
  
It was then that Sanji saw Nami as not only a woman, but a person. A person overall.   
  
'I heard Nami joined the ship under the promise of money. But she learned to like these people, and stayed with them as   
their navigator. But she's much more than that...'  
  
Sanji's eyes spaced out as he dreamily thought of Nami's pretty face and smile. The image was broken by a few hacking   
coughs from Nami, who was looking away from Sanji. Worry seeped through Sanji - strangely like ice-cold water.   
  
He lifted his cold fingers to her face, and took a sweat-soaked lock from her face. Then-  
  
"Sanji."  
  
Sanji was startled by Nami's voice, and leaned a little closer to the bed. Her usual voice was now dry and cracked. She   
was facing away from him, half buried under the edge of the blanket.  
  
"Nami-san? Is something wrong?"  
  
He whispered.  
  
"...don't come so damn close."  
  
The words stabbed Sanji. Didn't she love her crew a lot? Wasn't he a part of her crew? But... she didn't like him. He frowned,  
feeling bad that Nami didn't like him. That she just wanted him to go away. That she didn't-  
  
"You'll... catch my fever."  
  
Sanji looked at Nami in surprise as her fingers tighted on its hold on the blanket. So much for hating him.  
  
"It's okay. I like watching Nami-san."  
  
She tilted her head a little bit towards him, and Sanji caught the glazed look in her eyes. Maybe she was growing delirious,   
Sanji thought worriedly.   
  
"...Thank you..."  
  
She coughed.  
  
"...Thank you all..."  
  
She closed her eyes to smile briefly at Sanji before suddenly going under a series of coughs that racked her whole body.   
Sanji glanced to the right, where near a chair was the tray upon which he had set a mug of lemon-tea a few hours before.   
He slid a hand beneath the blanket and found Nami's back, and gently helped her sit up. Her shirt was plastered against   
her back with sweat.  
  
He patted her back a little until she finally managed to get her breath back, and handed her the mug. It wasn't even warm,   
but Nami must have found it soothing to her throat as she swallowed what was left. He then put the mug away and took a towel   
off the side, soaked it with water and squeezed the water out, and then went back to Nami. He settled her back down onto her   
pillow, and tucked the blanket around her.  
  
He pressed the cold appliance to her neck and face, wiping her forehead. Her face wore a peaceful expression as he finally   
took the towel away and settled down next to her again.   
  
"...good night."  
  
She mumbled. Sanji pressed the back of his hand to her forehead and waited for her to sleep. Once assured that she was   
sleeping, Sanji sat there, staring at Nami's face in deep thought.  
  
Nami's desire to get better wasn't because of her own pain. Sanji knew this because the day they found out Nami was sick,   
she had insisted that she wasn't sick. She had insisted she was fine so she could navigate the ship, and that, Sanji thought,   
was not for herself but for Vivi.   
  
He supposed this was because of her past. Since Nami has trained herself to work alone and without others, it must be new   
for her to start working for someone else. It appeared that she wanted to do the best she could.  
  
And the day Nami grew sick... she had taken the trouble to direct the route away from the cyclone, and refused to admit she   
was sick until it came to a point that she couldn't stay concious for long. She had gotten so sick, so pained... but she had still   
gone through the trouble for the crew.  
  
I guess she's finally adjusted to the word 'friends', Sanji thought. When Nami's sweet smile came to mind, Sanji knew that   
out of all the things he wanted right now, even more than finding All Blue, he wanted to make Nami better. And not only for   
herself as a woman; she deserved it as a person overall.  
  
He hoped she wasn't going through too much pain, but remembered the moment when the cyclone had been sighted. He'd   
heard her talk in an unnatural voice to Vivi.  
  
"Sorry... Vivi... ....I think it's... it's serious..."  
  
Why was she sorry? Because she couldn't navigate the ship? If that was the case, didn't she know that they'd just said that   
they'd find an island with a doctor on it?? And she hadn't admitted her fever because she wanted to get Vivi to Alabasta as   
fast as possible. Why didn't she deny her sickness at that moment?  
  
Because it hurt too much. Sanji realised this now. She could no longer stand the pain of standing up when she was so obviously   
sick, but she had withstood the pain for Vivi... and in order not to worry the crew. Sanji remembered the moment he'd burst into   
rivers of tears, Luffy started stomping the ground in impatience and shock, Usoppp had run around screaming in fright and worry   
while Karu had run about quacking. He remembered the particular moment when Nami had sat up.   
  
Sanji had the feeling she'd done so at that moment, and stood up and walked away, so she could assure them that she was fine.   
But in the end, the fever beat her down to a point that not even her determination and strong will could keep her going.   
  
Nami was a ... good person.  
  
A really, really good person. She deserved to recover as soon as she could.  
  
Sanji started when he saw a few droplets fall onto the blanket from his face, very surprised.  
  
'Why the heck am I sweating? I'm not hot. I'm cold, dammit.'  
  
Sanji thought in puzzlement as he lifted his hand to wipe his forehead. But he found no sweat wet his wrist. A few more droplets   
stained the blanket. Then Sanji realised his vision was blurred. He blinked, and a few more tears fell. He was crying.  
  
'Why the hell am I crying?'  
  
He thought, half-amused as he wiped his eyes hurriedly.  
  
It didn't feel anything like the river of tears that had burst forth the moment he'd learnt Nami might die.  
  
Sanji stayed sitting there, occasionally resting a cool cloth over Nami's forehead when her sleep seemed disconcerted. Then he   
too fell asleep, resting his cheek against her.   
  
He awoke a few hours later, and the room was much brighter, although it was lit with only pale light. Sanji checked Nami. Her   
condition seemed worse than yesterday, although her breathing was less laboured. After some thought, he patted Nami's head   
and whispered  
  
"Thank you,"  
  
before stepping over Luffy and Zoro as he walked outside, leaving the inner quarters. Outside, Vivi was sleeping on deck while   
Usoppp and Karu were working on fixing most of the ship.   
  
After Sanji's footsteps died away, Nami opened her eyes a little and smiled.  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
She murmured before drifting off to heavy and uneasy sleep again.  
  
  
  
  



End file.
